Boxer Girl
by E. Livingston
Summary: So i liked boxing. I lived and breathed it along side my brother. I guess you could call us happy, but there's a time for everything to come to an end. Including happiness.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I felt my chest burn and my throat feel dry after the 17 lap around the track.

"Don't stop Zera! Keep it coming just a few more and that's it" I heard my brother yell. I looked up and saw him standing near the tracks holding a stop watch. I pulled ahead and finished my laps, collapsing in the grass when I was done. I panted heavily and laid on my back as I catched to catch my breath, or at least tried to. I opened my eyes and looked up into my older brother's light green eyes.

"How much time?" I asked breathed out sitting up. "30 minutes for a 10 yard round track. You got some good legs on you sis" he laughed showing me the timer.

"Awesome" I said throwing myself back to the ground. "No,no,no none of that. Come on we have to get back to the gym and get the rest of your training done for today." He said pulling me up and helping me stand.

"Remember, who's got the best pair of knuckles the world's never seen" he said. I laughed at the statement.

"You do Ray"

"Nope, you do Z" he said. "Who's got the strongest heart in the world?"

"We do" I said placing my hand over his heart.

"Yeah, we do" he said putting his hand over mine. "Come on lets get back before Jerry kills us for not being on time for Matthews match" Together we walked to the van and drove to Jerry's Boxing Central. After 4 more hours of training I hit the showers and changed in to my regular street clothes; a gray Flash t-shirt, a pair of black skinny jeans and gray Nikes. I pulled my burgundy hair in a ponytail and grabbed my leather jacket from the lockers. As soon as I stepped outside my phone began to ring. I answered it as I looked around the block looking for Ray,

"Hello?" I answered.

"Z, look in the garage of Jerry's theirs a bike. Get over here; I had to go before hand" Ray said apologetically.

"You left! That's cold bro" I said hanging up and making my way back inside the gym. I made my way through a bunch of shirtless guys in the main room and passed by another group in the lounge. I made my way down a dark corridor with gray walls. At the end of it were to massive doors that had a key hole at the side of it under a doorknob. I stuck the key I always had with me in it and went inside. I looked at the bike and laughed.

"I am so not giving this back!" I smiled getting on the sleek blue motorcycle and headed to the site that Ray sent me. I couldn't wait to see the robot boxing tournement


	2. That's Not Fair

"Where have you been?" Jerry scowled as I met him at the Underground, a warehouse that some dude bought for illegal boxing tournaments.

"I was in China a while ago and I got stopped by a ninja and had to have a fight 'til death" I responded with a thick amount of sarcasm. I pulled of the helmet I wore and hopped off the bike.

"Who won?" Ray asked as he leaned against the warehouse's wall. "The ninja, I didn't make it" I said walking up to him and slapping him up side the head.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?" he said wincing as he probed his head.

"For ditching me, don't ever do that again or I'll shoot you" I said. "With what gun? He challenged. "I have my ways" I walked in after Jerry, into the place. I past by several guys placing beats at the door and a few good looking men who were the bodyguards. We passed a guy who was rewiring his Bot. He was having trouble with his language monitor. I walked up to him and pointed at the green cable that was hanging out of the bot's neck. "Re-wire that to the main frame and you'll be good" I said before walking away. We headed towards the betting desk where dozen of guys and their bots were placing their bets. I looked at the board and saw something that blew my mind. "Noisy Boy's back!" I exclaimed jumping around. I like robo boxing, sue me. The guy placing the bets heard me and decided to work upon my excitement. "Anybody who thinks that they can beat Noisy Boy here, I'll pay you $400 and everything that everybody bets on you." He said eagerly. There murmurs through out the crowd, but no went up. I looked at Ray, he read the message in my eyes and shook his head furiously.

"No, no, no, no. Z, you're an amazing but going up against a robo! Are you crazy, not even that but Noisy Boy! Dude the guy that controls Noisy is the same guy that controls Atom! Do you want to end up like Zeus?" Ray said.

"Of course not. I'll turn out better!" I said. I switched jacket with Ray and pulled the hoodie over my hair. I ran up on the desk next to the guy. "Gimme a robo and I'll bust 'em" I felt my eyes do that change color thing that they always do when I get happy. If your wondering my left eye changes color when I get happy or mad. The guy noticed and did a double take.

"Alright then, somebody get this chick a robo and let's go!" he said shaking his head. The crowd went wild. I approached the arena and was introduced to my female looking robo, called Rumy. "Does it have shadow box on it main frame?" I asked the angry owner. He nodded and hooked it up. I stepped in front of and move around a bit, it copied my movements a few seconds late but perfectly. I warmed up a little bit and pulled off my jacket and let my red hair loose. I put my contacts in their case and handed them to Ray. He stared at the case and then back at me.

"You're serious about this aren't you" he said in disbelief. "Z, think about this for a second-"

"No you think about this Ray, we need the money and even if we lose its not my bot and we didn't place a bet so we don't lose anything." I said taking off my t shirt, leaving me with my muscle shirt.

"Z, please this is Noisy Boy you're going up against. Don't get yourself in a fight you can't win!" he pleaded. I looked at him for a moment. Ray was a perfect brother, he wasn't bad looking either, and he was actually pretty good looking with his light eyes and dark red hair. He was tall and strong, capable of protecting sisters from bullies and so on.

"Have some faith bro. Who has the best pair of knuckles in the world?" I smiled. Ray rolled his eyes to the heaven before responding.

"You do Z" he said.

"Nope, you do" I smiled wider.

"Who has the strongest hearts in the world?" he said smirking at me.

"We do" I said. "Now help me fix as much of Rumy as possible" Together we fixed the messed up gears and wires. We finally got the shadow timing on point so he did everything I did perfectly and on time.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" I heard the announcer start. I walked to my place behind the door a walk away from the arena where I was to fight. "The moment you've been waiting for has arrived!" the crowd roared. There was an large amount thanks to the robo comeback of Noisy Boy. "You've watched him fall before and get back up time and time again. He has defeated the greatest and has come back from his little vacation to pay us a visit. Boys and girls make some noise for ATOM!" he yelled. Sure enough Atom came in doing his little dance thing and hyping up the crowd. I pulled the guy placing the bets over.

"You told me I was going against Noisy, not Atom!" I hissed. He laughed in my face; the smell of liquor spoiled breath almost killed me.

"The guy made a mistake and gave me the wrong name, sue me" he said shrugging and walking away.

"Boys and girls let us invite the poor soul that has decided to have a death wish today." Said the announcer. Okay, now I'm pissed. "Let us welcome Zero and Rumy!" I walked to the front steps of the walk and stopped, people bombarded me with boo's and other comment that would make a sailor flinch. I know something the will shut them up, I thought. "Gimme a mike" I told the guy behind the sound system. I asked him to play Fast Forward to 2012 by an old band called A Day to Remember. I put the mike to my lips and sung as I walked down the walk. The crowd ate it up and by the and by the end of the walk half of the people saying boo were cheering me on.


	3. Chapter 3

I stepped into my corner of the arena and waited for the bell to ring. When it did I simply stood in the middle of the ring, hands to the side as Atom circled me. Finally when he came at me I put my arms up and blocked his right hook. I let him hit my a few times but held my ground. I didn't move and inch away or closer. Finally I made my bot uppercut his gut and, using the same momentum, left hooked his jaw. I acted fast and quickly began landing hard blows on 'em. I kept hitting and not letting him take a break. I knew Atom was a sparring bot so it would take a while to bring 'em down. I kept moving him into the corner and giving him my all as I did. Finally I let him lose and sped quickly away to the other side of the ring. It a while for Atom to recover but when he did I couldn't help but feel a little bit regretful about joining the fight.

He came at me and made me step up into the corner and keep my guard up. I wait a while, taking hard and well placed blows until I broke away and really let it all out. I jabbed furiously but well controlled. I let my blow fall hard and fast on Atom.

"Ladies and gents, I think we have a match for Atom here!" said the announcer. I had completely forgotten he was there. Taking advantage of the fact that I was distracted, Atom ran up and pummeled, my bot's circuits got damaged a bit and the part that was receiving the shadowing. Knowing the warning that the headset that the owner had given me meant that the shadowing feature was breaking, as in it'll keep working for only a few seconds I made sure those few seconds were worth it. I estimated 10 to 20 seconds 'til the feature went down completely. I knocked Atom hard in his gut and nailed harder in the temple as he went down. Using the little momentum I had built up I quickly placed my right fist directly under his rib where his main frame should be and drove my arm upward.

Then he fell, and so did I. I smiled to myself at how completely awesome that final play was, and how stupid. If it had been any other bot I would've shut down right there! Acting quick Ray and I pulled Rumy over to the corner and worked on her shadow feature. I got the quirks fixed up pretty quick and let Ray handle the rest as I took a seat. I had sweated hell throughout the match and had sweated over my shirt. It stuck against my body.

"Hold up now, the dude giving Atom a whooping is a chick!" exclaim the announcer. He ran up to me and shoved the mic in my face, which I hate. "Sweet cakes, you got some moves!" he grinned. He must be new, I thought. I hid behind Ray and Rumy.

"You got it all wrong bro. I do all the fights here." Ray said. I don't know how but he was drenched in sweat as well. "Z, here is just the runner girl." He smiled. The announcer shrugged and walked to the other side of the arena and began to ask the other team some questions.

""Z, seriously think before acting. You can't just let people see you out in the open like that" Ray scowled. I waved away his concern and turned mine back to Rumy.

"Come on one more round left and I want to see if I can do it without Rumy, here falling apart." I said fixed some of her loose bolts and wires. I was concentrating on getting my head gear fixed when a loud argument snapped me out of my reverie.

"If you push him any more he'll break! You saw how it worked out in the end, Atom can't take another hit like that!" said a strong but young voice.

"I know when he'll break and when he won't! And he won't break now, I've got to much riding on this to back out now!" said an older gruff voice. I shook my head and went back to rushing through fixing Rumy.

"Alright people it's time to finish what we started. The winner of the first round, little miss Rumy!" I had Rumy get her corner without any dramtics 'cause seriously, all I wanted at that moment was 10 burgers, a milkshake and a big queens sized bed. "And for the first time in a long time Mr. Atom coming in last!" Atom went up in his corner lazily as well. I guess this'll be a quick match' I thought.


	4. Ray, The Jerk

I really hate it when thing are wrong. I waited for the announcer to finish talking 'bout who was in the lead, their stats and how much the round was going to cost. I notice to figures behind Atom fighting. They both had their hoods up and were wearing dark clothes so it was kind of hard to tell who they were and how old they are.

"Z, you can't keep this up." Ray said next to me. I rolled my eyes and turned to him. Ray was nervously looking around and fidgeting, his eyes darting between the announcer and several other guys in the crowd. Most of the guys he was looking at were holding wads of money and looking at him a bit funny. The little pieces began to click together. Ray has always had a gambling problem; the problem was that he mostly lost. When he did win he'd never save the money or anything. He always went overboard and ended up with debt.

"Ray please, don't tell me lost more bets" I pleaded. "You know what's going to happen if you have too much money to pay up!" Ray looked at me with guilty look that I knew a bit too well by now. It was a guilty look that said guess who's going to be living in the gym again.

"I'm sorry Z. I was always betting that you wouldn't but…" he trailed off as he realized what he was saying. I stared at him widening my eyes as I realized what he had just said.

"You've been betting against me all this time!" I said in disbelief. All that time training and those things you've been telling me and you've been betting against me! I thought.

"I didn't think you would go so far! I regret it but-I just. I'm sorry Zery! I don't-"

"Shut up!" I snapped harshly. I felt tears burning at the back of my eyes. I stared at the ground for a second. "Everything you did, everything you said, you lied to me! I trained for you, Ray. I won for you! No wonder you looked so mad whenever I won a match, you always said it's because I could do better. It's because you were losing bets! You betted against me, you own sister! What the hell ever happened to being the strongest hearts in the world, the best knuckles in the world?" I shouted. Ray looked around nervously and tried to make quiet down. I took my arm but I snapped my arm away.

"I'm winning this tonight Ray, whatever the hell happens is on your head" I hissed. I turned away from him and faced Rumy. I saw the weirdest thing from the reflection in the bot's face. Atom, across the arena was giving me a face that looked like he was scared, like he could actually feel my anger and hurt. He looked at me with pity. My nerves are getting to me, I thought. I shook my head and pulled Ray's overlarge hoodie over me and pulled the hood up. If you're wondering what's up with all the dude's clothes, then here is the explanation. Girls aren't allowed to box. Not even re wire outlets or suggest things. If anyone found out that I was boxing for Rumy then I'd be dead. The closest thing a girl can get to boxing or even robo boxing, is by being a girl robo. I zipped up the hood and got ready. The dude was finally finished with his speech and I got to go up. I didn't do anything special to hype the crowd, neither did Atom or his people. We simply stood there until we were allowed to fight. I turned around one last time and saw Ray shallowly surrounded by some scary looking guys. He was speaking rapidly and I couldn't hear him. I knew this bet was different and worse than the other because of what Ray did next. He looked around at the guys around him and then began to speak and mention towards where I stood, a shadow behind the large robot. He spoke slowly and gestured less than usual. Ray never brought me into things unless they were to the point where things where **bad**. The guys turned and saw me, really saw me. They saw my figure, my hair, and my ready fighting stance. As soon as they did that the bell rung and Atom went at me, the look of pity still on his face.


	5. Tears that Hurt

Taking advantage of the fact I was distracted, Atom went at me full force. I took a nasty right hook to the jaw and practically felt my bot's jaw rip. I held up my arms to guard but realized how Atom was fighting. The bot wasn't being shadow boxed, he was being voice controlled. The bot always seemed to have a moment of blankness before each attack. I waiting until Atom backed away to charge at him. Before his controller could mutter a phrase I went in shoving my fist in to Atom's abdomen harshly. I didn't fight like a boxer, I fought like a mechanic. I nailed his left ear with a hard left hook, where his receiving information was. Then I served a series of hard jabs at his spinal column where is power chip should be. I was going to finish the stumbling robot with a hard one, two, three but Atom blocked me and began hitting me with a series of hard blows to the face and gut, leaving me and my bot breathless.

"Nail 'em good" I heard my brother yell from behind me. I couldn't tell if he was talking to me or to Atom but honestly' I could care less about Ray at the moment. I attacked Atom with all the anger that I had for Ray. I knew all the dirty tricks, secrets and combinations that would render the bot useless. I right hooked at his eyes, where I knew his video chip must be. Then thinking fast dodged one of his jabs and sending one of my own towards his chest. I was mad, furious at Ray. My brother, my own flesh and blood going against me just like our parents and the rest of our siblings did. The freaking jerk! Everything we ever lived for, everything we ever worked for to get rid of all that betrayal was just washed down the drain. Infuriated and torn I went and tried to destroy the bot. I felt hot tears run down my cheek and sting my eyes, blurring my vision. I tried to land a promising blow on Atom but was of an inch, grazing his forehead with a left hook. Taking the misstep as an advantage he found an opening and began pounding at me. At some point my bot ended up on the floor. I tried to get the larger bot off of me and failed. The bot didn't lot at Rumy, instead its head turned slightly to me, the look of pity still on his face.

"Leave me alone! I told you that if she loses this one the money will be all yours" I heard Ray hiss loudly behind me. I let the rest of tears flow down silently and prepared for the worst. I finally got Atom off of me, to numb to react fast enough I didn't block his finishing blow. Somewhere in the distance I heard Ray calling my name, someone else cursing, and a young man's voice yelling in delight. I simply walked away from it all, numb and broken. I don't really remember much from then. I walked to the motorcycle that I had borrowed and simply stood their, staring at the jet blue helmet in my hands, occasionally I saw tears splatter onto the shiny surface. I don't know when but at some point I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and met the worried filled eyes of Jerry. I got scared 'cause nothing worries Jerry, absolutely **nothing**.

"You need to help me, it's Ray" he said, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"I don't give a damn about Ray, Jerry. He's been beating against me this entire time, and he has the nerve to lie to me" I said hoarsely. Jerry noticed my tear swollen eyes and pink cheeks and nodded.

"I know but he's in trouble Z. I just saw the Atom guy have his boys take 'em somewhere. They were talking 'bout some bets they need or something" I felt my eyes darken and left turn back to normal. Jerry nodded at my reaction and together we went in search for my brother all around the gym. Soon we found a place, a few blocks away from the warehouse. Jerry and I stood at the backdoor and slipped in.

"Now what –"

"Shh" I said, interrupting Jerry's unneeded question (AN: What it really was unneeded)

I mentioned him to follow me to what looked like the basement.

As soon as I opened a small door at the end of the dark corridor, I felt something hard and sharp hit the back of my head, and then I just blacked out to the faint sound of my brother's voice yelling my name.


	6. Chapter 6

My head throbbed violently as the black thing covering my eye was ripped off my head. I fell on the ground, my burgundy locks falling into my face. I felt someone pull me up into what felt like a chair. My hair stuck to my forehead with sweat. I felt like I was underwater, everything was blurry and practically silent. I felt something dripping from the side of my mouth and the rest of my body felt numb with pain. I heard someone speak to me but i couldn't find the strength to do anything buy groan in pain. My arms were bound tight to the chair, huh when'd that happen. My head fell in between my knees and I began to retch up everything in my stomach, including my stomach I think. From there everything was a bit clearer and my hearing was better. I realized how cold I was and began shivering violently. I jerked in small movement and felt numb. I wanted to go home; to find Ray and never come back. My head pounded loudly in my ears. My throat felt like a dessert with pieces of broken glass stuck inside.

"Who are you?" said a gruff voice in front of me. I tried to look up but it simply sent another shock of pain through my upper body. After the shock was a nerve racking wave of nauseous. I threw up again and felt my hair get pulled back. Whoever was pulling my hair grabbed me by the roots and practically tried to behead me with their bare hands. I felt myself scream and I bit the hand. The stream of curses and complaining were tagged along a hard slap to the back of my head.

"Stop it!" bellowed the gruff voice. "I never told any of ya to hurt her! Knock her out, yeah, but not to hurt her!" I felt a gentler hand sit me up and guide my face to look straight. I opened my eyes and saw a bronzed skinned man with hard emerald eyes. He seemed strong and harsh but his eyes were filled with compassion. "You okay?" he asked in his gruff voice. I nodded and went into another violent shivering spasm. "Somebody get her inside with the rest of them. She can't be out here" I felt myself go weightless in someone's arms. we walked a short distance somewhere where i was placed down next to someone.

"Zera! Zera please tell me you're okay. Please, Zera I'm so sorry please be okay!" I heard the person next to me say. I opened my eyes and meet my brother's eyes. They were tears in them, tears that fell down his cheeks. He held me in his lap, letting his tears fall on my face.

"Don't cry Ray." I whispered. My throat felt like someone had gone over it with a brolic piece of sandpaper. He exclaimed and placed a hand on my face. He smiled at me and gently kissed my forehead.

"You know now what happens when you break the rules of the Underground." said the man with the gruff voice. I looked up and saw him looming over us with buff guys standing at each side of him. "I don't care how good you are at robo boxing or at boxing in general. No girls are allowed to box. Not only that but you owe me $260,000 from bets. That's not counting the rigged bets you planned! I made that as clear as possible when you first started coming here Ray. We of the Underground now take ownership for this rule breaker and its allies. You can finally pay us back your debts after 10 years of service Ray. Welcome to your new home." Ray swallowed and brought me into his lap, holding my shivering body close

"W-what about my sister?" He braved himself to ask. I looked at the man, expecting to be in service with ray as well. "You're not putting her into service. She's too young and she's a girl." I heard the pain in Ray's voice. I knew that i should be angered at him but i was too scared to do anything but curl up closer into him.

The big man nodded respectfully at ray. As if he had a new sense of respect for him. "A family man. I understand that. But I also have a family. Here at the Underground. Tell you what let's make a deal."

"I don't do deals they usually never last." Ray said narrowing his eyes at the man. The big man laughed. despite everything that was going on his laugh was a pleasant one. It was hearty and true. sadly this laughed pretty much determined my life.

"You take your sister's sentence as well. 15 years in total. That's how long you'd have to serve me." the man said. I opened my mouth to protest but Ray beat me to it.

"Deal" he said.

"Ray!" i exclaimed. The guy's henchmen walked over and grabbed Ray by his arms, prying them away from me. "Ray! No please I'll do anything just let him go! Please Ray!" I yelled trying to run to him. The big man grabbed me and held me back. "No! that's my brother. he's all i have left! Ray! No!" tears began to stream from my eyes. This is how it was with our parents. The two of the on one side of the person and Ray and I on the other. the only difference was that my parents didn't fight for us. They thanked that officers who were taking us away and shook their hands. They were smiling! Laughing with relief practically. They turned around, got in their car and drove away. And they never looked back. But i was not them. "RAY!" I kicked screamed and pushed my way pass the big man and into my brother's arms. I sobbed and shivered as he comforted me, murmuring into my hair, lies about how it was going to be alright.  
>He held my face in his hands and kissed me on the forehead. He looked down at me and brushed away the hair that stuck to my face.<p>

"Who has the strongest pair of knuckles in the world Zera?" he asked. I busted into tears and shook my head.

"No Ray, please don't do this" i sobbed holding on to him.

"No, tell me. Who has the strongest?"

"You- you do Ray." i sputtered in the midst of my tears.

"Nope you do Z" he said tears falling from his eyes as well.

"Who has the strongest hearts?" i asked. I put a hand over his chest. The tears that fell out of his eyes fell faster now as he put his hand over my heart.

"We do Zera. We do" he said. He kissed my forehead for a long time. Finally we were broken apart but we didn't struggle. Ray was lead out one door and I was lead back outside where a car was waiting for me. I will never box again, I swore to myself. Not until Ray comes out.


	7. Chapter 7

I know, I know I deserved to be hanged for this high act of disrespect and not updating in ages. I'm really truly sorry, but I have a peace offering! Here you go!

* * *

><p>10 years later…<p>

Almost there just a little further, I thought to myself as I pushed forward. Ugh I'm getting slower. I ran around the warehouse in my last 20th lap, sprinting through it as my legs and belly screamed in mercy. I felt the burn and revealed in it.

"Aye yo Z! Time's up, back to work!" yelled Josh from his place at the door of the Underground as I passed him by. I turned back around, the November breeze sharp and cold against my t shirt and sweats. By the time I made it to the door Josh was gone and it was 12:25. I cursed at my watch as I saw that I was almost a half an hour late to work. I pushed the rusty metal side door that was labeled 'Employees Only' open and was greeted with the sound of all of the guys of the Underground getting ready for holding their fights. I saw the Techs moving around on the catwalks above head, setting up and fixing the lighting and sound systems that were used through the matches. The Movers were using their muscled bodies to move all the heavy mobile stages around the warehouse's 160,000 by 160,000 square feet floor. The Fighters were lounging around as usual, some of them shadow boxing their bots, and others practicing their voice commands and the rest fixing up some loose wires and broken things. It was always comforting to know that even though some things change, robot boxing won't. It was like the land of misfit toys for all who like metal pounding on metal. I climbed up stairs that were to my right, attached to the paint less walls, reaching all the way to the 5th floor catwalks and searching for the right door.

When I finally got to the door that was labeled 'Residential' I opened it and walked the hallway that the door opened to. When I finally got to my room I ran in and had to fight every cell in my body from jumping on my bed and knocking out for the next 3 days. Instead I grabbed my towel and toothbrush as I passed by my wooden desk, covering in drawings, pictures, and a few bottles of Mabi Taino. I walked into my beige painted bathroom and took the fastest shower possible, only cleaning the important parts with my mango smelling body wash. As soon as I was finished I rushed back into my white painted room, slightly disgusted at how messy it was with all the paper and clothes strewn every which way. I made a mental note to clean it up when I had the chance. Soon I was dressed in bartending uniform and was on my way down the stairs to the main level. By the time I made it onto the 3rd floor landing I was an hour late and I heard the people rushing and yelling as they flooded through the main gate. I made my way through the crowd and over to the bar where I saw Josh, Aaron, Ezekiel, and Rashawn manning the never ending demand of drinks that people threw their way.

"I'm here!" I shouted at them over the sound of a man yelling for a Little Manhattan. I pushed through the small mob and made my way behind the counter.

"What the hell Zera! Might as well just not show up if you showing up late every damn day!" Josh scolded. He was a prick; always blaming me for something. I rolled my eyes at him and greeted the rest of the boys with a nod.

"Hey boys" I said as I handed out Budweisers to the group of middle aged betters. They were regulars here at the Underground, always looking for someone to scout for the big leagues; the big leagues meaning the legal version of robot boxing.

"Hey Zera, how you doing sweetheart?" said Arthur, a tubby man with a good head on his shoulders. Well the head isn't that good if he's betting in an illegal sport but a good one none the less.

"I'm good, did you find out anything about Atom for me?" I asked as I handed another waitress a tray with two rounds of shots on them. After that I started pouring out a Scotch on the rocks for Toby, one of Arthur's friends that had just walked in. "Hey Toby"

"Hey there Zera, I see you remembered my drink, as usual" he said with a smile. The rest of guys came in and gave me their orders, all of them waiting for Arthur to say something about the big leagues. You see Arthur is one of the announcers in the real deal league. He always has pity on us lower class people and fills us in on the events going on.

"Come on Arty. What'd you'd hear about my boy" I said, I felt my excitement raising and my hopes getting high. Ever since that day years ago I've tried hard to get on track with that robot.

"Well your boy hasn't shown up in the last 8 months. I don't know why but I heard its 'cause the son of the guy who owns it is going to school. Man in charge has to wait until the kid gets back." He said shaking his head. "I don't think the kid's coming back personally"

I sighed in disappointment. I kind of had high hopes for him. For some reason or another, I thought that he and his robot would go far. I shook off the thoughts and got back to work. The night went on like is usually does; me throwing different types of drinks left and right, Josh yelling at me every now and then just to remind me how much he didn't like a girl in a guy's place, and the boys yelling at him to shut up 'cause he doesn't have legs as good as mine.

It was the last five rounds of the night that were coming up. These were the most intense. The last five rounds were filled to the brim with the rowdiest, drunk, and the best fighters of the night. The place was louder than the usual with people screaming out insults and bets. A few guys were actually there just to watch; just to revel in the fun of the morbid sport, but the rest had something riding on the game, whether it is money, a career, or maybe it was their lives.

"They're killing me out there!" hissed a man with a cowboy hat as he took a seat on a stool to my left. My ears perked up at his agitation as I refilled a man's glass with water, telling him it was Vodka.

"They're all a bunch of college boys that heard 'bout this from dey daddy's. Talkin 'bout them being the next Zeus or somthin'" he said before chugging down half of the Bud Light in his glass. I knew he was a sleaze bag not only from his bad taste in beer, but from the greedy look in his greedy eyes, and in the way that he tried to where teenage clothes when he was obviously well into his 50s.

"You never know" said a new voice. I turned to see a young man, an attractive young man at that. He was probably a few years older than me with his harden figure and boxer like body structure. His hair looked a bit to dark for his pale skin and brown eyes that also seemed a bit too dark for the guy's pale complexion. "We college boys just might surprise you". The sleaze bag redneck looked like he was about to start something so Rashawn decided to step in.

"Hey now, this is a bar. So if you got ya booze best get to steppin'. If you don't, Zera ova there would kindly get you something" Rashawn said as he placed a hand in front of the sleaze bag. "Do I make myself clear?" he said with a pointy gaze at said man.

"Crystal" the redneck replied with a leer. He got up and made his way through the small group of people that surrounded the bar, his designer tight jeans threatening to fall from his massive weight. _And to think he probably had respect in some point of his life_, I thought as I watched him go.

"Can I get a coke?" said a voice, bringing me back out of my head. I turned to face the guy that was talking with Mr. Redneck.

"I'm sorry. H-how can I be o-of service?" I said. Let me explain to you that I was speaking to a Greek Adonis, so I was feeling a bit shaky. The guy gave me a very thorough once over that made me feel like I was naked under the gaze of is calculating blue eyes.

"Let me get a Coke, coldest one you got" he asked in a deep voice. I was trapped by his piercing blue eyes and could only nod. He stared at me for a second and then chuckled deeply. "You might want to close you mouth, you're drooling a bit". That snapped me out of it. I made a face at him and went to the cooler to grab the warmest Coke I could find. I made my way back to him and saw the guy, whom I am naming Blonde, talking with two other guys. By the looks on their faces it seemed like he was recounting a story, and a good one at that.

"…was the last time I saw him" I heard him finalize as I drew near with his drink.

"1.50" I said to him as I place the drink in front of him. A smirk grew on his face as I asked for the payment.

"You want me to pay?" he scoffed. I gave him a look and thought, _Who the hell does this nigga think he is?_

"No I want you to lick my toe. Yeah I want you to pay!" I scoffed back at him. He looked at me with raised eyebrows and a surprised look on his face.

"What? Nobody ever told you to carry you own weight?" I joked as I crossed my arms over my chest. His eyes flicked over my breasts and I felt myself heat up a bit.

"Nope, not in a while." He said. "Don't you know who I am?"

"Nope, I've been living under a rock. Do you know who I am?" I asked. Once again the guy looked taken aback by my statement.

"Well no-"

"Would you like to know?" I asked. I felt a smile playing on my face and by the way he smirked I bet he could see it too.

"Very much so, yes" he smiled, revealing dimples on his cheeks and perfect white teeth. _Oh that's not fair_, I thought to myself. _Dimples too!_

"Name's Zera. Zera Rodriguez" I said extending a hand out to the guy, excited to learn his name. His smile widened a bit at the mention of my name and he took my hand, his massive hands seeming to swallow mine whole.

"Max Kenton. It's a pleasure to meet the girl who almost beat me and my dad in a match" he said with a grin.


	8. Chapter 8

My body froze in shock. My arms hardened and my hands felt clammy.

I was conscious of what was going on; believe me. I was fully aware of the seven guys to the left of me who were waiting for their drinks. My mind was completely keen on the fact that Josh was watching me and was probably judging me. I was even more aware of the fact that I was on the clock and that my job wasn't going to do itself.

But I was completely conscious, and more importantly focused, on the calloused hand that enveloped mine. It was warm and had long fingers with slightly hairy knuckles. The arm attached to it was very well defined and muscular, no doubt from years of boxing. The shoulder following it was clad with a white t-shirt that stood out against the dark background that the bar provided. A well-defined jaw followed, leading my eyes past his thin, pale lips that were set under a strong pointy nose. His cheekbones were a bit soft, showing that he wasn't that old, but they still had a definite sharpness to them that was attractive. His eyes were dark, which was odd because they didn't go with his pale skin. The thin circle surrounded his dark brown eyes, giving away the fact that the night wasn't kind to him.

"Y-you're the one w-who was in charge of Atom that night?" I asked. His piecering blue eyes completely captured my own,


End file.
